


Ar Lath Ma

by Fatally_Procrastinating



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Massage, Shameless Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:58:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3693174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fatally_Procrastinating/pseuds/Fatally_Procrastinating
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A companion piece to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3549896">Sleep Well</a>. Cullen Rutherford and Prishe Lavellan spend the night together as Cullen eases Prishe into her first intimate experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ar Lath Ma

**Author's Note:**

> Prishe belongs to [artsyneurotic.](http://artsyneurotic.tumblr.com)

Prishe’s skin tingled in anticipation as she stood in Cullen’s office. She watched his lips as he passed on orders to the scouts, barely hearing the words as they nodded and filed out of the room. Cullen shut the door behind him, shoulders falling with a groan.

“There’s always something more, isn’t there?”

“Wishing we were somewhere else?”

His chuckle pulled his lips into a smile. “So long as it’s with you, anywhere would be nice.”

She flushed until the tips of her ears burned. Damn him. Looking at her with those large, golden puppy eyes and those soft lips and that smile that made her knees weak. Clearing her throat, she glanced away. How was she supposed to tell him that she wanted to be with him? That she wanted him for a bondmate? She chewed her bottom lip until it ached.

“Cullen.” She stepped closer, her fingers twisting together. What if all of this was merely a distraction to him? A fling that he would eventually toss aside and forget? No. Cullen wasn’t like that. He  _couldn’t_  be. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“Yes?” He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. Her heart stuttered when he kissed the back. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, his cheeks darkening. His eyes swept down her face below settling on her mouth.

Prishe stuttered for a moment before shifting up to her toes. It began as a soft brush of the lips, his breath mixing with hers as she tangled her fingers in his hair. He stepped forward. His body was warm as he pressed her against the wall, their kiss gentle and soft, his hot tongue begging against her lower lip. Her stomach flipped when he groaned at her taste. His tongue was languid when it rubbed against hers, making her toes curl.

“Cullen,” her hold on his hair tightened as she tugged him closer, “I want… I—I want to…” She kissed harder, lips urgent as she tried to build up her courage. She’d never done this before. She’d never done  _any_ of this before. What if he didn’t—what if  _she_  didn’t…? “C-Cullen, I—”

“Yes?” He placed soft kisses along her jaw before he worked down her neck to her collarbone, his scruff scratching pleasantly and making her spine shiver. Cullen ran his tongue along the sensitive skin and her thoughts shattered. She scraped her nails along his scalp, eagerly pulling him against her.

“I want,” she tried again. Her eyes fluttered when he nipped the skin of her neck before covering the slight sting with open-mouthed kisses. She wanted him to mark her, to make her his. “I want you,” she gasped. “I want to  _be_ with you, Cullen.”

Pink blossomed in his skin before a grin broke across his face. He cupped her cheeks, his lips fervent, almost reverent, with his impassioned kisses. “I want that too,” he whispered. “Maker’s breath, Prishe, I—” He ran his thumb along her lower lip as though too distracted by her mouth to speak.

She smiled when he kissed her again, his body warm and welcoming as he closed what little distance had remained between them. One of his hands skirted down her side before shifting up to lay on her breast. His knee pressed in, parting her legs. His fingers squeezed as ground his hips; his erection hard against her.

A moan tore from her throat as her head fell back against the wall. She blanched, cheeks burning at the unexpected sound.

Cullen’s hands stilled and he pulled away. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” The warmth of his touch fell away and she latched onto the fur trimming of his coat before he withdrew further.

“Y–you didn’t hurt me, I…” She cursed at herself for the doubt and fear gnawing at her stomach and clogging up her throat. With a slight groan, she set her head onto his chest. How was she supposed to admit this? “I’ve never—” Prishe sighed, her fingers tightening on him. Embarrassment flared across her face and down her neck. Still inexperienced at  _her_  age.

“You’re shaking.” Cullen wrapped her in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

Damn him. She didn’t need to be coddled, she needed—“I’ve never been with anyone. Ever. In any way.”

She kept her face pointed at her feet, certain her face was a dark red by now.

“Not at all?”

She shook her head, unable to speak.

Cullen cursed. Her heart fell. It was happening again. The awkward separation; stiff smiles and quick retreats. Why had she believed that it would be different this time?

“I’m so sorry,” he said.

Prishe blinked fast, trying to combat the early sting of tears. “It’s fine.”

Rubbing his forehead, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Your first time, and here I was about to rut you up against a wall like I was some—” He groaned again, another curse under his breath. “Forgive me, Prishe.” His kiss was soft and lingering. “If you still want to, th-that is, uh…” He cleared his throat, “I imagine your bed would be far comfortable than anything here.” His hands rubbed along her arms and his face pulled together in his frown as he murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear, “You’re still shaking.”

“You mean—you don’t mind?” Her grip relaxed against the fur. “About me?”

“Why would I?” He kissed her forehead, lips trailing along the vallaslin there.

Her cheeks began to ache with her smile. “No reason.” Leaning up on her tiptoes, she caught him in a light kiss, her stomach clenching all over again. “My room, you said?”

“Yes,” he murmured against her lips.

“Now?”

“Maker,  _yes_.”

Prishe laughed at the gleam in his darkened eyes, her heart thundering in her ears as he took her hand. They strode across the battlements together and she pressed her grinning face against his arm to try and hide it.

Cullen paused at the entrance to the main hall of the keep. He glanced to her and the pink of his cheeks deepened. Releasing her hand only to wrap his arm around her waist, he pulled her close to his side. “Is this all right?”

She flushed as she stared into the hall. Rumors were already flying around Skyhold over them, if they were to walk arm in arm to her room—they’d be declaring themselves to far more than just the visiting nobles. All of Thedas would hear.

“If you don’t want to—”

“I do,” Prishe said. “I’m just a little nervous.”

With a smile, Cullen pressed a swift, almost shy, kiss to her cheek. “Me too.” Straightening his back and holding her tight against him, Cullen marched forward into the hall. He kept his eyes straight ahead, cheeks turning crimson as all other conversation died. Prishe flushed, averting her gaze to the ceiling as she curled into the commander’s side. Ten steps. Twenty. The hall stretched on for an eternity before they finally passed through the door into her own wing.

She puffed out a breath, now completely turned into his chest. “That’s something I never want to—Cullen!” She screeched when he suddenly pulled her up into his arms. “P-put me down; I’m not some child to be carried.”

He gave her a light pout, one of his feet resting idly on the first step. “So you don’t like it?”

“I…” She scowled when his mouth began to turn with a smirk. Damn him. “I didn’t say that.”

“Are you sure you want me to set you down?”

Prishe shuddered when his breath tickled her ear. The tip of his tongue ran along the sensitive shell and she stuttered, “D-do what you like.”

“I will,” he said with a chuckle.

She scowled even as she buried her face into his neck, enjoying the softness of the fur as he carried her. It smelled of him—leather polish, fresh linen, hot metal. Prishe kissed along his neck, flicking her tongue along the pulsing vein. She smiled when he sighed under the attentions. Twining her fingers throughout his hair, she shifted up in his arms, catching his earlobe with her teeth, thrilling at the light hiss of her name.

“Yes, Cullen?”

“I—that’s—” His words grew strangled as he hastened up the final steps into her bedroom. Sitting her on the bed, he dropped to his knees on the floor beside her. His tongue ran along his lower lip as his eyes swept over her.

Prishe’s mouth went dry when his hands came up to the clasps on her shirt. “W-wait.” She caught his wrists. She wanted this, she wanted  _him_ , but—“I’m… I’m scared.”

“We’ll take it as slow as you want,” he promised with another, lighter kiss. His lips were warm and promised patience. “Even if that means not at all.” Her fingers relaxed on his skin and her heart raced as he undid the first clasp on her shirt. His lips followed. He kissed the base of her throat. Another clasp: another kiss. Her collarbone. The top of her breast band. Prishe shivered when he kissed the cloth, shifting the fabric with his touches so it rubbed against her nipples.

She ran her fingers through his soft hair as he continued downwards. Her eyes fluttered shut when his tongue dipped into her belly button. “ _Cullen_.”

His chuckle vibrated against her skin as he trailed his lips along the top of her breeches. Shifting closer, he kissed back up her body before diverting up to her neck. He nipped and sucked the skin and Prishe allowed a small moan when his tongue sent heat pooling between her legs. She felt his smirk when he asked, “Feeling relaxed?”

“The opposite,” she said with a breathless laugh. His calloused fingers came around and pushed the shirt from her shoulders, exposing her front. Blushing, her hands twitched as she fought the urge to cover herself.

Cullen pulled away to stare at her, eyes hooded. “You look beautiful, Prishe.”

“I—I’m not.” She bit her lip and glanced away. He’d touched her and kissed her as though she were beautiful; when he said the words, she almost believed him. Almost.

“I think you are.” A hand cupped her cheek. He gently tilted her head so that their eyes met. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Prishe burned under the sincerity of his golden eyes. “…you’re biased.”

“I am,” he said with a laugh. His knees scooted closer until he was flush against her. “I’m very biased when it comes to you.” He kissed down her front before tugging at her breastband with his teeth. His fingers took over once it started to unravel, loosening the fabric a few inches at a time as he continued to stare into her eyes. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”

Prishe stared at him a moment before she pulled him in for a kiss. She leaned back, tugging him onto the bed with her. Cullen chuckled against her lips, his tongue hot against hers. He straddled her, one of his hands coming to her breasts. She moaned into his mouth when he toyed with a nipple, rolling it in her fingers.

“Move onto your stomach,” he whispered.

“What?”

“Trust me.” He kissed her one last time before pulling away.

She frowned, watching as he began to strip the outer layers of his armor. Cloth and metal clunked to the floor, creating a growing pile. He left only his breeches and undershirt, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows.

“Turn around,” he said with a laugh before going to her closet.

Prishe all but pouted as she moved onto her front. For having a supposedly beautiful half-naked woman in bed waiting for him, he wasn’t behaving like she’d hoped. “What’re you doing?”

“Helping you relax.” Cullen was smirking when he came back out with a small bottle. She recognized it from when he’d rubbed her injured shoulder several months before. Climbing onto the bed, he straddled her lower back.

“Cullen, you don’t have to do this.”

“Would you prefer I ravish you?”

His voice contained traces of laughter and she scowled at the pillows before her. “…maybe.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

Prishe scoffed, feeling somehow even more exposed now that she couldn’t see him without craning her neck.

“I want this to be special,” he said. “I know it’s probably foolish of me, but I  _want_  youto feel special. I…” He stuttered for a moment and she pictured the blush on his face. “I’m glad that your first time is with me. Wait. I’m not that glad that it’s your first time—that is to say, I’m not unhappy about it just that—Maker’s breath. I only mean that I appreciate the trust you’re placing in me right now, and I want to show you that you didn’t put it in the wrong person.”

Prishe smiled, playing with a loose thread on one of the pillows to try and distract herself from violent butterflies in her stomach. “I know I didn’t, Cullen.” She closed her eyes with a sigh when his calloused, oil-slicked hands fell onto her back. Each movement was steady and strong and gentler than one would expect from a man so large; she found herself going limp as he massaged the ache from her muscles. He started to hum partway down her back, his touch both calming and stoking her nerves. Her skin burned beneath his touch.

“Relaxed now?”

He chuckled when she murmured a response. The bed shifted around her and his hands moved further up, all the way to her hairline, before rubbing back down. Prishe shivered when his breath tickled her ear. His fingers slowed and dipped down to run along her sides. They brushed along the top of her breeches before coming around again.

She rubbed her thighs together, her breath growing short when his hands paused beside her breasts. He caught the tip of her ear with his teeth before suckling on the sensitive skin. Prishe pressed her face into one of the pillows to stifle her soft moan. It grew into a cry when his hands wedged between her and the bed to tease her hardening nipples.

She’d touched herself before; on dark nights when her body burned and begged her for release; when Cullen’s kisses had lingered on her lips and spread through her limbs until her body hummed to be touched by him again. None of her rushed fantasies compared to this. His mouth was hot and languid on her ear, then her neck, down her spine, finding sensitive spots she hadn’t known were there. His fingers rolled and tugged, teasing and soothing until the heat in her belly began to writhe. She  _needed_  more.

“ _Cullen._ ” His name left her as a moan when he shifted again, one of his hands dipping down to the front of her breeches. Undoing the belt with ease, his fingers slipped inside.

“Can I?” The question was breathless beside her ear.

“Please!” Her fingers dug into the sheets below her.

Cullen kissed the side of her neck, his body nearly resting on top of hers as his fingers slid along her entrance. “Maker’s breath, Prishe.” He bent over so he could kiss her, lips hard and needful.

She moaned freely into his mouth as his fingers found her clit. “ _There_ ,” she hissed. “Cullen, right there.  _Yes_.”

His other hand cupped her cheek as he deepened the kiss, tongues tangling. He moaned her name and her body shuddered at the sound. The slow circles he drew with his fingers became a sweet torture as he teased her out. She rolled her hips toward his hand and he pressed harder in return. His fingers sped and her breath became short gasps as pleasure began to mount in her belly.

“More,” she begged. “Harder. Faster. Anything.”

Cullen chuckled and placed kisses along her spine. His free hand returned to her breast as he slid two fingers inside her. Prishe cried out, gripping the sheets hard enough to tear the cloth as he ground his palm against her clit, fingers thrusting up. Her hips seemed to move on their own, seeking a deeper friction against his touch. Grabbing his wrist, she held his hand at the perfect angle, moaning his name again as his fingers sped up. She was so close. The pleasure was building up inside her, pooling together and tightening like a coil about to snap.

Cullen’s lips were on her ear again. “I want you to come for me, Prishe.”

“I—” She moaned, body shuddering. So damn close.

“Come for me,” he said again before kissing her.

Prishe broke from the kiss, head throwing back as her release pulsed through her, scattering her thoughts and making her body tremble.

He was chuckling again, his fingers continuing to move at a slower pace as he drew out the shocks that left her panting, before finally pulling out as he helped her shift onto her back. “Very good,” he murmured against her lips.

Prishe kissed back with a hunger, fingers running through his hair before she tugged him on top of her, parting her legs beneath him. She ran her tongue along the scar above his lip and grinned when he sighed her name. “Ma emma lath,” she whispered between his kisses. She loved him. Loved him more than she’d ever loved another.

Cullen separated enough to look her in the eyes. His cheeks went a soft pink as he rested his forehead to hers, stumbling over the words, “Ar lath ma, vhenan’ara.”

She blinked, unsure of what she’d heard. “What?”

“D-did I say it wrong?”

“No.” Prishe smiled as she curled her fingers around one of his ears. “Am I really your heart’s desire?”

“Yes.” Cullen took her hand and kissed her palm before trailing his lips down her wrist. “You have been for quite some time.”

Prishe all but giggled as she pulled him down into her. Her cheeks flushed as she thrust her hips up to rub against him. She could feel him hardening within his breeches, see the desire growing his eyes. “I want you.”

“Not yet, ma vhenan,” he murmured. He smirked when she pouted and placed a single, chaste kiss on her lips. “I haven’t finished helping you relax.”

She laughed, head tossing back onto a pillow. “I think if you do any more of that, my heart may explode.”

“No, it’s going to be a bit different. Something you definitely haven’t done yourself.” Cullen kissed the base of her throat, between her breasts. He paused to take one of her pert nipples into his mouth, suckling softly before scraping his teeth against the sensitive nub.

Prishe relaxed with a soft moan. Swallowing hard and licking her lips, the butterflies in her stomach regrouped in anticipation.

He glanced up and smirked, switching to her other breast, nipping and suckling until she was rubbing her legs together. “Enjoying it so far?”

She laughed as she hit him lightly in the shoulder “You  _know_ I am, you ass.”

“I’m rather liking it myself.” Cullen grinned before returning to lick a path down her navel. His fingers skimmed along the edge of her trousers before he slid them down over her hips. Hooking a finger into her smalls, he pulled them down a few inches and pressed a kiss to her skin just above her dark curls.

Prishe’s heart pounded when his eyes met hers again. She lifted her hips, allowing him to strip her down to her smalls. She felt Cullen’s smile when he kissed the inside of her thighs, his scruff scraping and tickling the skin in a way that made her fingers tighten in the sheets.

“Ma vhenan,” he murmured as he finally worked her smalls off. He tossed them to the floor with the rest of her clothes, moving back into a kneeling position. He stared at her. “Maker’s breath, Prishe, you are so beautiful.”

She covered her face with a hand as she felt her blush deepen. “You said that already.”

“It’s worth repeating.”

Chucking one of the pillows at his smug face, Cullen caught it with a smirk. “This is exactly what I needed.” He settled down between her legs, one of his hands slipping under her backside. Prishe yelped when his hand squeezed before he lifted her up and placed the pillow underneath.

“Cullen, what’re you— _ah_.”

His tongue ran a slow line along her slit before the tip flicked her clit. Her hips bucked toward the sensation and Cullen’s hands pinned her down. His calloused fingers ran absent lines along her thighs.

“You’re not relaxing, vhenan.”

“I’m going to kill you for this la—” the word broke with another moan when he suckled against the sensitive nub, his teeth barely scraping the wet skin before he pulled away.

“You were saying?”

“Don’t stop.”

Cullen nuzzled against her sex, his tongue lapping at her clit with long, steady strokes that made her legs tremble. His fingers ran along her thighs, her belly, her hips: massaging and rubbing as though this was all a continuation of his massage.

Prishe’s breath came as a series of soft hisses through clenched teeth. The buildup began slower than before as Cullen teased and kissed and nipped. Resting back, fingers twisted in the sheets below her as she enjoyed each renewed thrill and shiver.

Cullen shifted closer, resting her legs on his shoulders. He withdrew enough to kiss her thighs again. Her eyes fluttered when two of his fingers took over, spreading her open, teasing her entrance, tight circles on her clit before softer, lazy strokes inside of her.

She moaned his name, hips rolling up towards the touch. His chuckle vibrated against her skin, making her gasp for him. When his fingers parted her for his tongue, Prishe shifted up onto one arm, her other hand tangling in his hair. She drew him nearer, hips bucking up against his mouth. She bit her lip, head rolling back. He lapped at her entrance, moaning against her, his nose brushing her clit with just enough inconsistency to drive her mad.

“Cullen, I—I want…” She barely held in her cry when his other arm wrapped around her hip, fingers rubbing her clit at an infuriating pace as his hot tongue twisted and thrust inside her. “C–Cullen!”

“Tell me,” he said, his momentary pause enough to make her whimper at the loss. “Tell me what you want, Prishe.”

“You!” she all but screamed. How many times did she have to say it?

“Not yet.”

She groaned, grip tightening on his hair when he rolled her clit between his fingers, his tongue twisting and lapping inside. Her body was tightening, pulling in on itself. She expected it to burst, to flood through her, but it continued to build, to bubble, to burn like a like hot coals until she was writhing beneath him. She called to him, begged for more, for release.

He smirked against her skin, fingers joining his tongue. Faster. Another finger. Harder. Stroking the flames inside her until she felt ready to burn. She tossed her head against one of the pillows, panting and moaning as her pleasure began to peak.

“Cullen!  _Cullen!_ ”

Prishe screamed his name when her pleasure burst, crashing over her in waves that reduced her legs to a trembling mess. His tongue was hot and slow against her sex as he drew out her pleasure, making her eyes flutter and her knees quake.

“Kiss me,” she begged.

Cullen crawled up between her legs, lips glistening in a smug grin as he captured her mouth in a heady kiss. She moaned as she tasted herself on his lips. She held him closer, fingers digging into his shirt, legs wrapping around his waist.

“We can stop here,” he murmured into their kiss. “You don’t have to—that is,  _we_ don’t have to…”

Prishe shook her head and kissed him again. “I want to. I want you, Cullen. Please.”

Taking one of her hands, he linked their fingers and pressed her down into the bed. He moaned into her mouth when he dragged his clothed length along the heat of her sex.

“Maker, Prishe.” He kissed harder, pressed in closer. His hissed when she thrust upwards with her hips, his eyes fluttering in another curse. Sweat was gathering at the back of his neck, curling the hair she held to. “You’re so—” Another groan and his forehead fell against her chest.

She kissed the top of his head. She liked seeing him this way; the way her name left him as a deep moan, the way his fingers tightened around hers as though he needed to be sure she was really there with him, the way he kissed and caressed her skin.

Dropping her hand from the back of his neck, she slid it down between their bodies and grasped his length through his breeches.

Cullen choked. His head drooping, face straining.

He was harder than she’d expected, larger. She licked her lips, stomach tightening again as nerves mingled with desire. She squeezed experimentally and he groaned.

“V–Vhenan, if you keep doing that, I won’t—” His jaw snapped shut when her fingers tugged on the head of his cock. His breath left him in a sharp hiss and his hips bucked into her touch.

“I want you, Cullen,” she whispered again, catching his earlobe with her teeth.

“I—” His eyes rolled back into his head when tugged the laces of his breeches up. “I want you too. W–which is why you need to— _ahhh_ —to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” she asked innocently, fingers slipping past his smalls as she took him into her hand. He was hot and pulsing and twitched when she stroked him.

“ _Prishe_.” His lips crashed onto hers with a hungry kiss. Taking her hand away, he tugged off his shirt then kicked at his breeches and smalls, cursing loudly when they caught on his ankles. Prishe laughed at the intense look of concentration in his eyes when he finally freed himself from their restraints. He settled above her, resting his weight on an arm he placed above her head. “Are you sure?” he asked again.

Prishe flushed and pulled him in for another kiss. “Please, Cullen.”

He grinned against her lips, a hand trailing softly down her body. She parted her legs and wrapped them around his waist once more, gasping when the head of his arousal brushed against her.

“Ma’arlath,” she said, kissing him harder, heart racing out of control.

“I love you too,” he whispered as he slid the head of his cock inside. Cullen groaned, his body shuddering as he paused. Prishe rolled her hips in invitation, her body aching to feel more of him.

“I’m all right, Cullen. Don’t stop.”

Something close to a growl tore from his throat as he slid himself all the way inside her, groaning her name as he panted against her neck. He called to the Maker in her name, moaning about how good she felt, how long he’d wanted this: wanted  _her_.

She latched onto his back, pleasure falling from her lips as he filled her, as he moved at a steady pace within her. It was different than before, brighter, bigger:  _more_. She savored his every sigh and moan, adding them to her own as her body moved to bring him closer, farther. Scraping her nails along his back earned a hiss. Letting her hand travel further to grip his behind made his hips buck with a soft curse.

Cullen linked their fingers again, resting his forehead to hers as he continued his steady pace. Prishe flushed as she stared into his eyes. She gripped him closer, her every breath coming as a gasp. A pressure was building inside her, a delicious friction that made her hips roll in a desperate attempt for more.

“I love you,” he repeated, body shaking with effort as sweat began to drip down his back.

“I know.”

Cullen grinned as he kissed her. His hips moved faster, his thrusts a little deeper each time. Another kiss, a deeper thrust; he moaned her name.

She watched him intently even as her body started to shake in anticipation of her release. His eyes never strayed from her face. He held her hand tight, his thumb making lazy circles against her skin. Everything about him was gentle, soft, loving. What had she ever done to deserve it?

“I love you too, Cullen.”

His laugh was breathless, their kiss barely more than a brush of the lips as they both panted and moaned against the other.

“Cullen, I’m—” She strained beneath him, breath hitching as she felt another orgasm building inside her.

His lips were hot along her ear as he nipped and suckled in a way that made her cry out for him. His free hand moved down, rubbing and teasing at her raw clit.

“Yes,” she hissed, legs tightening around his hips. “Like that. Don’t stop. Please, Cullen, harder. _Yes!_ ”

She curled into him when she came, her face buried in his neck as she tried to stifle the bulk of her moans. Cullen’s hips were as erratic as his breath before he finally stilled with a cry of her name.

Prishe panted softly, bringing his hand to kiss it as her other hand explored the front of his chest. Her mind drifted on her high, her body tingling and warm. She hummed out her pleasure when he kissed her, wincing slightly when he pulled out, missing the fullness.

“Can I stay?” he asked, curling up at her side. His enfolded her in his arms, bringing her up against his chest. “Here with you, I mean.”

She laughed as she nuzzled his neck, smiling as his hands rubbed along her back like they had at the start of all this. “After all that, I certainly hope you’ll stay.”

Cullen’s chest rumbled with his laughter. His lips skimmed her forehead before drifting down her to her nose and cheeks. “Was it… I–I mean, uh…”

Prishe’s cheeks warmed at the return of his shyness. Naked, their legs tangled, arms around her, her moans of his name still in the air, and he was somehow worried. “I loved it,” She kissed his chest absently, a sudden weariness pulling at her eyes. “And I hope we’ll do it again soon.”

Cullen chuckled, his muscles flexing as he folded the edges of the blanket around them, holding her ever closer to him. “I think that can most definitely be arranged.

Prishe rested her head above his heart, the last of her fears fading away with the steady beat. “I love you, Cullen.”

He kissed her one last time, fingers delicate on her face. “Ar lath ma, vhenan.”


End file.
